Process of uniting spun or stamped-out hemispherical shells and articles produced thereby



Jan. L52K3 D. M. IRELAND PROCESS OF UNITING SPUN OR STAMPED OUT HEMISPHERICAL SHELLS AND ARTICLES PROVIDED THEREBY Filed Aug. 26, 1922 mleniam Patented Jan. 13, 1925.

UNITE S I DAVID M. IRELAND, OF IDETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PROCESS OF UNITING SPUN OR STAMPED-OUT HEMISPHEBICAL SHELLS AND ARTICLES PRODUCED T'HEBEBY.

Application filed August 26, 1922. Serial No. 584.458.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID M. IRELAND, a citizen of the United States, residin at Detroit, in the county of \Vayne and ta'te of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Processes of Uniting Spun or Stamped-Out Hemispherical Shells and Articles Produced Thereby, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a new and improved process of uniting the spun or stamped-out hemispherical s ells from which ball floats are now made, as well as the new article of manufacture resulting therefrom, which is both cheaper to manufacture and more durable and efiicient.

In the drawings:

Figure l is an elevational view of one of my improved floats, with parts of the shell broken away to show the relation of my improvement thereto.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale of the meeting edges of two shells, spaced from one another and from their interposed gasket.

Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 2, but, with the gasket in place about the interior holding-flange of one of the shells.

Figure 4 is a view of the next step in the assembling operation, the flanged edge of the second shell being positioned over the first.

shell and against the interposed gasket.

Figure 5 shows the outer edge of the flange on the second or larger shell bent over into clinching position with respect to the flange on the first shell and compressing the interposed gasket to make a watertight joint.

It is, of course, not new to.unite two originally independent hemispherical shells, to form a spherical or spheroidal float or similar closed vessel. To effect this, two principal methods of rendering the line of union of their meeting edges watertight: the use of a compressible gasket, and soldering. The first of these has proved objectionable to an almost prohibitive extent because of the difficulty of holding the gasket in its exactly proper position at all peripheral points, and, indeed, from falling wholly or partly within the floats interior while the shells are being rmited against forcible separation, while the large proportion of leaky and incompletely soldered shells, which the carelessness of an artisan is likely to offer as so complete, has made a large proportion of the shells thus assembled objectionable.

To avoid these features of objectionability, I have devised a float and a method of fabricating the same, which, while partaking of all of the benefits of a really watertight article, whose parts have been assembled by either of these means, can be cheaply and rapidly assembled, with an assurance that it will not subsequently be found defec- 70.

to be provided on its outer face with a Sll%lt annular grooved or troughed portion, as

in other words, the flange C, as a whole, in its cross-sectional contour, is preferably, though not necessarily, bent slightly outward at its edge. This shallow groove E, and the edge 0, which adjoins its inner limits, provide a receiving space for the annular rubber or composition gasket F, which fits over the flange C like a collar, so that it can not escape from its frictional engagement with the sides thereof, except when intentionally ulled 0E. The relative position of the two s ells A and B and the gasket F, just before they are brought into assembled position, is shown in a fragmentary way in Figure 3.

The second shell B is now forced into position over the flanged open end of the shell A, so that its seat G rests on the opposite face of the gasket from that which engages the shallow groove E, and with its flanged edge H just enough larger in diameter so that it can pass over the outer edge of the bead D, as shown in Figure 4. Either by hand or by the use of suitable well known mechanism, the extreme edge of the flangeH is now bent over the rearward or plain face of the bead D, as shown in Figure 5, thus clinching the two shells against separation and compressing the gasket F into the shallow groove E, to a degree sufiicient to insure the watertight character of the joint all around. Close inspection of the ent re peripheral extent of a soldered joint is thus rendered unnecessary, and one can be equally sure that all of the gasket is uniformly and accuratel under compression between the meeting anges of the two shells.

What I claim is:

1. The process of sealing the line of union of the initially independent halves of a spherical float member, consisting in providing an annular beading in spaced relation to the peripheral edge of one of said halves, eflecting the frictional encirclement of the peripheral edge outside of said beading by an annular gasket member, and fittin thereover the complementary periphera edge of the companion shell, a portion thereof spaced from the extreme edge being outwardly flanged to form a seat for engagement against the adjacent face. of the gasket, and the peripheral edge outside thereof bein bent over the rear face of'the annular bea 'ng on the first mentioned shell, thereby locking the shells in sealing relation against the interposed gasket member.

2. The process of assembling the component halves of a spherical float, which consists in providing an annular flange appreciably spaced from the extreme peripheral edge of one of said halves, locating a gasket member in and about the space between said flange and said peripheral edge, fitting thereover and against said gasket member the complementarily shaped seating face of the other spherical half, and bending under the remote face of the flan e the projecting peripheral edge of said second spherical half, thereby locking the lgasket in compressed relation between the alves.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a

I spherical float member composed of two originally independent halves, one of which has that portion of its wall spacedly adjacent its peripheral edge formed as an encircling flanged groove, and thefother'of which has a complementary annular seat spacedly located within its extreme peripheral edge, and an interposed gasket member frictionally encircling the extreme peripheral edge of the first named of said shells just outside of said flanged groove and adapted to be compressed between it and the annular seat on the other one of said sheHs, the extreme peripheral edge of said last-named shell being bent over the remote face of the encircling flange on the first named shell to effect their interlocking and the compression of the gasket between them.

4. In combination with a hemispherical shell provided. with an annular flange spacedly located from its extreme peripheral edge, a gasket member adapted to en gage in the space between said flange and the adjacent edge of the shell, and about the latters circular contour and a second hemispherical shell provided with. an annular plain-faced seat adapted to engage said gasket member, and a' projecting peripheral edge portion adapted to engage over said flange on said first-named shell and to be bent into interlocking relation .with the remote face thereof.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a float member formed from two hemispherical shells, one of which shells has an annular flange located appreciably distant from its peripheral edge, an annular gasket member adapted to fit about said projecting peripheral edge, shells is provided with a transversely disposed annular seat which engages the exposed face of said gasket and with a projecting peripheral edge, which, when bent under said annular flange on said firstnamed shell, serves to-eflect an interlocking of the two and a compression between their complementary surfaces of the interposed gasket.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a twopiece shell member, one of whose component parts is provided with an annular flange appreciably spaced from its peripheral edge and the other of which is provided with a complementary plain annular seat interiorly of its peripheral edge, which latter is bent and the other of which under the remote face of the annular flange 

